Ladder hoisting attachment



1953 J. N. WILLIAMS LADDER HOISTING ATTACHMENT Filed June 17, 1949 H W m 4 INVENTOR. zf/L W1. L/AM-S, BY

Patented Feb. 10, 1953 mnnaa HOISTING sanctum; Y

JamesN. Williams, Los Angele's -califn Attract n s 17, 1949, SerialNoI 9911s;

The present invention relates to a hoistin mechanism adapted forand primarily intended forattachment to aladder such as used by roof construction and repairing-firms. W i V It is the general object of the invention to provide a hoisting attachment-for a ladder which is simple, inexpensive and convenient to operate. Itis a further object of the invention to provide a device which may be attached to the rungs of a ladder in any required vertical position thereof to the end that the device-may be used on any ladder irrespective of the length thereof solong as the distance between the rungs of the ladders used remains uniform. A still further object is to provide a device in the form of a single, rigidly formed unit which; when attached to the rungs of a ladder, remains firmly and unshakably in position thereon. 1

This and other objects of the invention, together with the many advantageous features thereof, will be better understood upon the perusal of the following detail description and by. referring to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is aperspective fragmentary view of a ladder to the rungs of which the device of the invention is shown'atta'ched, as in practice;

" Fig. 2 is aside elevational view on a larger scale of the'device as it appears when attached to a ladder;

Fig. 3 is a substantially corresponding view of the device of Fig. 1 as it'appears when the ladder between hoisting operations is resting against a building; and

Fig. 4 is an end view of the device taken in the direction of the arrows of Fig; 2.

As shown in thedrawings, the device of the invention includes, generally, a U-shaped frame which is perforated to receive a stud 3 on which a pulley 4 is hung to rotate within the side memhers I, 2 of the frame. These side members are along the outer edge of the frame shown bent at right angles to form flanges 5, 6 which are added in order to increase the rigidity of the frame and at the same time to make it possible to use much lighter material in the frame. An additional advantage of these flanges is that they provide wide bases upon which to mount cross members 1, 8. These members are channeled and properly proportioned fittingly to enter upon and to ride on the rungs [0, H of a ladder 9. They may be fastened to the flanges of the frame in any suitable manner as by a welding operation. The upper member 1 is designed to carry the full load of the weight of the device and the parts held suspended therefrom. It should, for this reason, he

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made wide enough substantially to occupy the full length jof'therun'g upon which it is hung.

The function'of thelower member 8 is'to maintain the frame in position adjacent the inner surface of the ladder but not to carry the load thereon. It is for this reason set alittle closer to the upper member than the distance between the rungs of the ladder.

In practice, this hoisting device is attached to the rungs of a ladderatthe'requiredheight'above the groundand itis important to note that the device is mounted to project' .inwardly from the ladder a distance above the'roof ,edgeor parapet I5 of a building. 'While in this position, which is best indicated FigJB. the'wheel of the device takes thel positio'n so far above and within the edge of the roofflastc make'it impossible for a person on the groundt'o'operate" the hoist. It becomesnecessary, and it is commonly accepted practice, manually to swing the ladder a distance away from the roof, substantially as indicated in' Fig. I, so asto obtain clearance space for the passage of'a pail IT or any other material which may be required on ,ther'oof during the construction or repair. thereof. The frame I is. for this purpose, shown made with an inwardly projecting handle l6,.by means of which the outward swinging movement oi the ladder may be.

greatly facilitated.

It .is most importantto notethat the wheel frame is attachable to the inner surface of the ladder at any desired height thereof. Other de-- vices have come to my notice which are designed. for similarus'e but the wheel framing is, in such devices, mountable; on the outer surface of the ladder and the wheel is 'a'separate structure which is freely hung on the frame above the brackets which fasten the device to the ladder rungs for independentswinging movement relative thereto; such devices can only be attached to the two top rungs of the'ladder 'unless'the pulley is so small that it will pass betweenjthe rungs of the ladd sushim ey nd-fr e if ma stantial enough to carry the loads for which such attachments are designed, are of such short leverage that it is too difiicult for one person to operate. In the present device, as illustrated in the drawings, the wheel is substantialy clear of the ladder rungs and can be made entirely clear thereof, if preferred. It is rigidly mounted for rotation within its frame. All danger of shifting or swinging movement of the assembly, during hoisting operations is, for this reason, entirely eliminated.

It should, in view of the foregoing discussion,

be clear to anyone familiar with such hoisting operations, that any available ladder having the required uniform distance between the rungs may be used in connection with the present device; whereas, in other types such as above referred to, a particular length of ladder may be required for each roof construction or repairing operation. It is also important to remember that the device of my invention, as above explained, is a single unit which, when hung on the rungs of a ladder, remains firmly in position thereon and is incapable of shifting or swinging movement relative thereto.

When the wheel frame is fitted at the top thereof with a hook, such as indicated at 20 in the drawing, it is seen that the device, when removed from the ladder, forms a complete pulley assembly for general use in cases where no ladder is required. But it is important to note that in all cases where the device is attached to a ladder this hook is entirely spaced apart therefrom and does not in any way interfere with the mounting or operation of the device. Since only a small portion of the wheel extends into the space between the rungs of the ladder, it is seen that a relatively very large wheel maybe employed and the effort of performing the hoisting operation greatly lightened.

I claim:

'1. A hoisting device attachable to the inner surface of a ladder comprising, a frame having flat side walls, an upper and a lower cross-member secured to the outer edges of said walls, the members being shaped to engage any two adjacent rungs of the ladder firmly to maintain the frame in inwardly projected position on the ladder, and a grooved wheel rigidly seated for rotation within the inwardly projecting side walls of the frame.

2. Av hoisting device attachable to the inner surface of a ladder comprising, a frame having flat side walls and flanges laterally extending from the outer edges of said walls, an upper and a lower cross-member secured to said flanges and shaped to engage any two adjacent rungs of the ladder firmly to maintain the frame in inwardly projected position on the ladder, and a grooved wheel rigidly seated for rotation within the inwardly projecting side walls of the frame.

3. A hoisting device attachable to the inner surface of a ladder placeable against the edge of a roof comprising, a frame having flat side walls and an upper and a lower cross-member secured to the outer edges of said walls, the members being shaped to engage any two adjacent rungs of the ladder firmly to maintain the frame in inwardly projected position on the ladder, a grooved wheel rigidly seated for rotation within the inwardly projecting side walls of the frame, and a hand grip inwardly projecting from the walls of the frame for manually moving the ladder to adjust the angle of inclination thereof relative the edge of roof.

4. A hoisting device attachable to the inner surface of a ladder placeable against the edge of a roof comprising, a frame having fiat side walls, flanges laterally extending from the outer edge of said walls, an upper and a lower cross-member secured to said flanges in vertically spaced relation to each other and shaped to engage any two adjacent rungs of the ladder firmly to maintain the side walls of the frame in inwardly projected position on the ladder, the lower crossmember being set a little closer to the upper member than the distance between adjacent mings, a grooved wheel rigidly seated for rotation within the inwardly projecting walls of the frame, and a hand grip inwardly projecting from the side walls for manually moving the ladder to adjust the angle of inclination thereof relative the edge of roof.

5. A hoisting device for attachment to the inner surface of a ladder, said device consisting of a frame in the shape of an inverted U having a flat upper wall and flat side walls downwardly extending therefrom, flat flanges laterally extending from the outer edges of said side walls, a grooved wheel mounted for rotation within the walls of the frame, a hook-shaped cross-member fastened to said flanges at the top of the frame above said wheel to ride on a rung of the ladder, and a similar cross-member secured to the flanges at the bottom of the frame below the wheel in position to straddle the next lower rung of the ladder thereby to prevent oscillating movement of the frame on the ladder.

6. A hoisting device for attachment to the inner surface of a ladder mountable against the upper edge of a wall, said'device consisting of a frame in the shape of an inverted U having a flat upper wall and flat side walls downwardly extending therefrom, flat flanges laterally extending from the outer edges of said side walls, a grooved wheel mounted for rotation within the side walls, a hook-shaped cross-member fastened to said flanges at the top of the frame above said wheel to ride on a rung of the ladder, a similar cross-member secured to the flanges at the bottom of the frame below the wheel in position to straddle the next lower rung of the ladder thereby to prevent oscillating movement of the frame on the ladder, and a handle inwardly projectin from the side walls of the frame for manually moving the ladder to adjust the angle of inclination thereof.

JAJl/IES N. WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CXTED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,459,621 Cobb Jan. 18, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 513,543 France Aug. 27, 1926 

